Vinyl monomers have been polymerized in aqueous emulsion systems for a plurality of years in which one or more normally liquid vinyl monomers are introduced into an aqueous medium and the system is emulsified by use of an emulsifying agent and by use of a polymerization catalyst or polymerization catalyst system the vinyl monomers are polymerized to produce such a polymeric emulsion system. These vinyl polymer emulsion systems are frequently used as coating compositions which produce a high quality finish for automobile and truck bodies and also can be utilized for appliances such as refrigerators and stoves and for cabinets and the like. These emulsions can also be used to coat fabrics and will provide a product with good hand, light-fastness, abrasion resistance and dry-clean characteristics. Certain of these vinyl emulsion polymer systems can be used as adhesives to bond together paper, wood, plastic sheet and the like. When they are used to coat substrates made of metal, which coatings are to be baked, there is generally incorporated into the aqueous vinyl polymer emulsion system a cross-linking agent which is generally an aminoplast cross-linking agent so as to react with reactive groups or functional groups pendant from the vinyl polymer system. Upon baking, the thermoplastic vinyl polymer becomes crosslinked with the cross-linking agent and is converted upon baking to the thermoset state.